Soho Chicken and Whiskey Looking for New Home as Lease Set to Expire in 2026

Soho will be departing its longtime home in Ohio City Credit: Scene Archives

“We’ve known about this for a while,” says Nolan Konkoski, chef-owner of Soho in Ohio City. “We’ve known for a long time that we would not be able to renew financially.”

Konkoski, who opened Soho (1889 W. 25th St.) with his wife and business partner Molly Smith in 2011, is officially on the hunt for a new home now that Chipotle has signed a deal to take over his restaurant’s space when the current lease period ends in the fall of 2026.

The neighborhood Soho calls home has changed considerably in the 13 years since the restaurant opened, and the financial landscape that exists today is no longer favorable, says Konkoski.

“We’re a successful small business, but the real estate side of things is an unfortunate reality,” he says. “As everybody has seen, most of the independent restaurants on the street have been replaced by something else. We’ve seen Black Pig go, Flying Fig go, Pearl Street go…”

Konkoki and Smith have been debating the future of Soho for months, he adds, and the decision they landed on is to forge ahead – though not necessarily on the same street.

“We decided that the best course of action for us is to find a new home for Soho and pick back up,” he says. “[W. 25th St.] has been home to us – and a very good home to us – so we don’t want to move far, but we’ve also had conversations about staying on 25th and what’s the next move.”

Ideally, adds Konkoski, Soho will land a new home prior to the lease deadline.

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